Hotel Utah's famous guests

On Thursday, June 9, the former Hotel Utah and current Joseph Smith Memorial Building will celebrate 100 years of hospitality. In honor of that event, here's a list of some of the celebrities who stayed at the hotel.

In 1911, acclaimed turn-of-the-century French actress Sarah Bernhardt came to Salt Lake City. She was to perform, as an advertisement phrased it, "the poetic play 'L'Aiglon.'" She did not stay at the Hotel Utah. It was days away from opening its doors. As it turned out, American Broadway actress Ethel Barrymore had a reservation the week the hotel made its debut. She was the first "big dramatic star to visit the house," the Deseret Evening News reported.

During its three-quarters of a century, the hotel hosted hundreds of celebrities and politicians, including every U.S. president from William Howard Taft in 1912 to Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, the Web site www.hotelutah100.com reports. Here's a smattering from the Hotel Utah's "Who's Who."Jimmy Stewart, at the Hotel Utah Feb. 24, 1984. Deseret News Archive